I think that to have a mentor is a great thing and while there have been many people that I have looked up to and tried take away from, in my current workplace, there is a constant movement of parts and people which has made it hard to build a steady relationship (or the "classic" mentor/pupil relationship). There are a handful of teachers and associates that I have looked up to and appreciate the way they carried themselves, but I guess at the end of the day life moves on and lives change.
Today I would say that from a personal standpoint, I have two to three persons that I can label as mentors. One is an UB Grad alum who works for T. Rowe Price, and we have talked a lot about me being back in school, the MFA program, and design in general, but he has moved on to Manage another department so our time has been seriously "trimmed."
Another was a gentlemen that I worked with over the past few years. Now for the two of us, we have a few things in common and that made it easy for us to bounce ideas back and fourth. A barrier is broken when there is a familiarity, and a friendly partnership if you will.
I honestly feel that for any mentorship to work there has to be a common ground of just personalities or generalities between the two people. It is a give an take, and it isn't easy to learn from someone you don't like, trust, or feel comfortable around.
One thing that I believe who-heartedly, to be considered a mentor to anyone is an honor. This may be why I love the idea of teaching design as a possible career path. I love the back and fourth, the learning aspect, a person building themselves off of your experience and know how. I really love it.
But there will always be some out there who feel that they are too important to take time out of their day and talk with you about your professional walk. No matter where you go there will be people like these and you can certainly learn from them but if they are not willing to see your passion and help build it, then move on gracefully.
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